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Wickham Falls Weddings #9

Starting Over in Wickham Falls

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They’re both taking the next step…

A new business and a new home—

Georgina Powell thought that was all the “new” she could handle!

Georgina Powell is finally moving out of her parents’ house—at thirty-two! And after years of carrying her mother’s grief, she’s ready for something new. She just didn’t expect it to come in the form of Langston Cooper, the famed war correspondent who recently returned to buy Wickham Falls’ local paper. But as she opens her own business, his role as editor in chief may pull him in a different direction—away from their future together.

Nationally Bestselling Author

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 20, 2020

90 people are currently reading
64 people want to read

About the author

Rochelle Alers

221 books1,057 followers
Rochelle Alers was born in Manhattan, New York, USA, where she raised. She obtained degrees in Sociology and Psychology, before started to work. She is a member of the Iota Theta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and her interests include gourmet cooking and traveling. She has traveled to countries in North, Central and South America, and Europe. She is also in accomplished in knitting, crocheting and needlepoint.

Published since 1988, today a full-time writer, has been hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today's most prolific and popular African-American authors of romance and women's fiction. With more than fifty titles and nearly two million copies of her novels in print, she is a regular on the Waldenbooks, Borders and Essence bestseller lists, regularly chosen by Black Expressions Book Club, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Gold Pen Award, the Emma Award, Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award. She also wrote as Susan James and Rena McLeary.

Rochelle Alers lives in a charming hamlet on Long Island.

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5 stars
61 (46%)
4 stars
45 (34%)
3 stars
20 (15%)
2 stars
4 (3%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
Profile Image for Aly.
2,936 reviews86 followers
June 14, 2020
3.75

At 16, a family tragedy put a stop to Georgina's dreams. At 32, she's now looking for independence and making steps in that direction. And that means refusing to take over the family store where she worked all her life and start her own business; a craft shop and searching for a new place to live. She still have responsibility to her father's store though and have to go to Wickham Falls Chamber of Commerce fund-raiser. A chance for Georgina to talk with Langston, a former foreign correspondent who came back to town to reboot the journal and work as the editor-in chief. Georgina and Langston are no stranger, they grew up in the same town. But on that evening, they'll start a friendship not without attraction.

To me, Georgina was a positive person who didn't feel sadness over the fact she's been pretty solitary most of her life. So it was great to see her making friends, falling in love and creating a new path for herself towards finally doing what she likes. It was so cute how Langston likes her freckles. I must say I wanted and expected more heat between them but it was still a fun read.
Profile Image for Lynn Spencer.
1,437 reviews84 followers
August 1, 2020
B- so 3.5 stars This book was a sweet romance but also a pretty solid family drama. At 32, Georgina Powell has been in something of a holding pattern since high school. A family tragedy put her dreams of art school on hold and she has instead lived at home with her parents and helped to run their department store in the small town of Wickham Falls, West Virginia.

Even though she's sometimes nervous about it, Georgina is taking steps to move out on her own and to open a small specialty store. And just as her life is changing, in walks Langston Cooper, the new newspaper editor.

Georgina and Langston had known each other as children but they weren't particularly close before Langston went off to college and a career as a war correspondent. Seeing them get reacquainted and explore the chemistry between them made for a sweet, slow burn romance.

The chemistry between Georgina and Langston is immediate but the romance develops slowly. Both leads are adjusting to a lot of change in their lives and I appreciated how they supported each other and gave one another some time and space to process. A fair amount of the book also deals with Georgina's bid for independence from her parents. The scenes between the heroine and her father are particularly strong, but some of the conflict involving her mother's grief and its affects on the family gets rather glossed over.

I also liked the town itself. The town is fairly diverse and people have real-life problems, such as dealing with local government red tape or trying to keep local business alive as big box stores undercut their prices. That matches my experiences in small-town America much more than the all-white idyllic dream towns I sometimes encounter in fiction.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and the main couple. If you like a slower-paced romance, this one is sweet. It does gets marred a little at the end, though, by some leaping to conclusions in a single bound which manufactures unneeded conflict. Still, Wickham Falls is a lovely town to explore.
Profile Image for ReadBecca.
861 reviews99 followers
February 17, 2021
Look, I picked this up obviously because she's selling yarn on the cover, it was about what I was looking for/expected - though would have liked even more yarns!

People seem to leave yet always come back to the small town of Wickham Falls, but Georgina never made it to art school because all her life plans were derailed when her brother died and she had to help her dad keep the family store running through her mother's grief. Years passed, now she's done putting her own life on hold, she's moving out of her parents house and leaving the family store to open a craft shop with a specialty in knitwear. Along the way, she gets increasingly cozy while planning advertising with Langston, a recently divorced former war correspondent & author who now runs the local newspaper.

This pretty well hit the spot if you like more toward sweet romcoms, though there is one steamy scene. The couple seem to go from one meal to the next, so fair warning if reading while hungry. A handful of over the top moments where things just work out perfectly, particularly the final act drama/resolution felt really rushed. I did absolutely love how Georgina completely stood up for herself and her plans, she was unwilling to derail her plans because of others pressure or even just because she was getting caught up in the feelings of a new relationship.
18 reviews
August 8, 2020
This was a difficult read. The heroine frustrated me through most of the book and her breakup showed her to be immature and too emotionally young to be in a relationship. As a reader it is challenging when the book has a breakup and make up all in less than 10 pages. I have enjoyed the series though, this one just was not as good.
790 reviews4 followers
October 1, 2020
I like this story and its characters!

This fictional (at least I think its fictional) town in West Virginia is difficult to discern if the characters are Black, White or a mixture of the two. For instance the description of Langston suggests he and his family are Black. The description of Georgina lends toward a mixture of Black and White. The same go for the other residents of the Falls where some you can tell are Black, some White and most a mixture of the two ethnic groups!!! Those groupings in no way take away from the beauty of the love stories or the town itself! Wouldn't it be nice if the whole of America and the world at large could get along in such a manner? I know people will quarrel from time to time. They will even have disagreements yet what takes place in the Falls, seem to never be about any of the resident's ethnicity and that to me makes for a far less living environment! I guess that is why I like these Wickham Falls stories so much, they treat each other as valued human beings and not based on the color of their skin. Another excellent Wickham Falls love story that I truly, truly enjoyed!!!!
Profile Image for DearBookClub.
288 reviews4 followers
March 26, 2021
The protagonist of the story, Georgina, takes over her father's business as he is healing from her brothers death. The family business gas been around for decades, surviving the Great Depression. Mixed-race, Georgina's mother is African American and her father is Scotch-Irish.

Langston left Wickham Falls to attend college. He spent most of his career covering war stories in Africa and The Middle East, now he is editor-in-chief at The Sentinel.
1,029 reviews1 follower
May 4, 2020
A love worth waiting for

All Georgi thought she had given up helping out her family, God had a plan . She was just what Langston needed and he was what she needed. I was glad her mother found her way back from her grief. Great story.
Profile Image for Yolanda Nan.
3 reviews4 followers
August 8, 2020
Another Great Wickham Falls book

Rochelle Alers made this book feel as if you were right at the department store as well at the Craft store. She is so descriptive with her writing that it compels you to read the whole book in one - two sittings.
Profile Image for Xee.
893 reviews58 followers
August 13, 2020
Read for #summerfling2020 Down Home Country and Category Romance prompts

2 stars

The romance was a slow, the chemistry was tepid. A times felt like chic lit. I haven't read this author before so maybe it's just how her books are. Just not for me.
64 reviews
December 29, 2020
She DId It Again

I am a Rochelle Alerts fan. She has done it again. Another series I really like. I am always waiting for the next book. Georgina and Langston have each had disappointment in love and other problems to steer their decisions. After coming together they find that love can be good. Good job Ms. Alerts.
Profile Image for Michelle.
23 reviews1 follower
February 14, 2021
Great characters! Loved Langston's point of view. The family and friendships were so real. I loved the respect and strength of the characters.. First time reading POC and looking forward to more of these. #blackhistorymonth
Profile Image for Mary Calton Gerard.
1,221 reviews7 followers
July 27, 2024
Enjoyable and entertaining series

The author writes like I feel, easy, free and relaxed. She creates personable characters that are cheerful and content. The author writes a scenario that feels real and invites readers to enter the place or location.
32 reviews2 followers
May 29, 2020
This was a good book with a slow and steady romance that developed over time. I plan on reading another Wickham Falls novel soon.
Profile Image for Ava Smith-forrest.
873 reviews2 followers
September 3, 2020
Starting Over

Georgi wasn't starting over she was starting to live as an adult. As Long as Rochelle adds to Wickham Falls I will read them.
Profile Image for Tracy White.
32 reviews
February 2, 2021
Second Chance

Rochelle is one of my favorite authors I love how she have you waiting for her next book Langston n Georgina story is so touching about exploring love after hurt.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews

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